Awesome news!

We got some amazing news last week! It started on Thursday when we found out that Mitch is board-eligible, which means that he passed his test with a high enough score to be able to submit his package to the chief's board. If he is selected, he will be able to pin on chief at the end of September. We are so excited! I'm incredibly proud of him, and he so deserves this! He studied almost every day from August until January for the E-7 ranking test, so I'm not surprised he passed with flying colors. I really hope the chief's board sees what I see in him and they select him. He is already doing the work and responsibilities of a chief so we are really hoping he gets selected.

Then on Friday we found out that he is eligible for re-enlistment! This may sound funny to some of you, as it used to be that the military not only encouraged you to re-enlist but also gave you a compensation package for doing so. With the job instability in the civilian sector, people are not getting out of the military as often as they used to. This makes for impacted sections of the Navy. There are certain rates that people are actually being forced out of the military and given a severance package. They are essentially not allowed to re-enlist. Mitch's rate (electronic technician) is severely impacted. Unfortunately the program, called PTS, was not based on merit, but simply if you were up for re-enlistment last year, this year, or next year. Mitch's name had been on the list since last year, and every month his re-enlistment was denied. We had been praying fervently that God would make it clear to us which direction He wanted us to go (military or civilian) with this PTS decision. When Mitch got the email on Friday night we were both so elated! After getting the news that he was selected to go to the board, we both felt like the Lord wanted him to stay in the military, and this only confirmed it. He will be re-enlisting next month for six more years! We are so excited to be confident that we are going in God's direction.

Now on to picking orders! (stay tuned)

Love,

N

Why am I the WORST blogger in the world?

Let's just say it's because I'm ridiculously busy...that sounds better than because I'm lazy or too tired to write once the girls are asleep.

SO much life has happened since I last wrote, it feels like an insurmountable amount to try and catch up on! So instead, I will just highlight the current goings-on of the Skrove household.

On Friday, Savannah turned 4 months! Sometimes I can't believe she's already 4 months, and other times I can't believe she's ONLY 4 months old. She's approximately 15 pounds now, and I haven't measured her height recently but I'm betting she's pretty darn close to 26". That's right, my little girl is TALL for her age (I have no idea where she got that from). She has rolled over from belly to back and back to belly but won't do it consistently yet. She bears weight on her elbows and occasionally even on her hands when she is in tummy time position. She smiles, giggles, belly laughs and talks CONSTANTLY! Whenever we put her in a bouncy chair she instantly tries to sit up, but she's not strong enough yet. I think it will happen this month though! She still has very little hair, and like her big sister, she has eczema :0( Luckily we have been down this road before and are very good at taking the necessary steps to maintain her skin and eradicate most of the rash.

Scarlette turned 2 1/2 on Friday as well! She battled a pretty severe virus for about half of February, and only started getting better last week. Her little body handles colds and sickness very differently from ours, so she was not able to fight the virus off as quickly as we were. Now that she's feeling better she's pretty much back to her old self. She has been getting herself into tummy time while playing on the floor, which we are very excited about because she previously refused to stay in that position. We had a meeting today with the medical supply company representative and had Scarlette fitted for a therapeutic stroller, a stander and a bath chair. It's a little daunting and sad to know that she needs these things, but we are certain that she needs them and they will help her tremendously in strengthening her core and legs. We also feel very blessed that our insurance provides these things for us with little fight, that is not the case for many families who need this type of equipment.

There are a lot of changes occurring with Mitch and his career path, I don't quite know where to begin! We SHOULD find out this week whether or not he is board-eligible, that is, if he passed the E-7 exam with a high enough score his evaluation package will be submitted to a board of chiefs that will then determine whether or not he will be promoted. We also should find out this month or early next month whether or not the Navy will let him re-enlist. We want to re-enlist, but the Navy is trying to oust some of the impacted rates to make room for new, lower ranking sailors in other rates. It's not fair, but there's nothing we can do except pray that Mitch will be allowed to stay in. This month there are quite a few spots available for ET1's, so we are praying that this is his month! IF he does get one of the spots, then next month we will start to put in for orders to our next duty station. We are due to move from here next January. So far, the detailer will only talk to Mitch about moving to Virginia, so we are looking at Portsmouth/Virginia Beach area. However, there are a couple "hot-fill" billets in San Diego. Those are spots that for whatever reason they want people right away, and if we are willing to take those orders they may be willing to move us back to California! We are just praying that the Lord provides us with the wisdom to know where He wants us to go, and that wherever we end up is best for Scarlette and Savannah.

I have been pretty busy as well! Aside from the usual taxiing to and from the hospital and various appointments, I have taken up bow-making as a hobby. I have absolutely fallen in love with it and am having so much fun! This week I plan to start making some tutus for the girls and blinging out (putting rhinestones on) some pacifiers. I love crafting and it's a great way to help me unwind and destress. I also have been doing Zumba, an exercise dance class 3-4x a week. It's SO much fun and it's helping me lose weight at a steady, healthy pace. I'm totally and completely addicted to Zumba, and what makes it even more fun is my friends and I go together.

Probably the most exciting news I get to write down here, is that we will be in California in just ONE week! My little sister, Casey, is getting married! That makes me feel OLD! But we fly in Wednesday, the wedding is Friday and then we get to go to Disneyland on Saturday. We are so excited to see our family! This will be the first time that many of them will be meeting Savannah! And I know the wedding will be amazing. That reminds me, I better start working on my toast...On my list of things to do while I'm in California is: eat at In n Out, Del Taco, La Cocina, and Wolf Creek (all places that are NOT here). I hope there will be enough time to walk around the mall and maybe hit up some thrift stores while I'm there (the shopping in Cali is very different from here), and I absolutely cannot WAIT to go to Disneyland, EEEK I'm getting butterflies just thinking about it! My dad and stepmom are going to watch the girls for us so Mitch and I get an entire day to just spend with each other and have fun!

Well, that's the last 3 months in a nutshell! Hopefully I will be writing very soon!

Love,

N

In just 5 short months.....

On January 18 it will be 5 months ago that Scarlette had her heart surgery. Goodness I remember it like it was just yesterday! I was so terrified, probably more than I have ever been in my entire life. Me and SO many of you cried out to God for healing and the safety of our sweet girl, and that the surgeon's hands would be steady and guided by Him! And her surgery went so well, so AMAZINGLY well, that she was released just 3 days after her surgery. THREE DAYS! (anyone seeing any parallels here? :0) )

Scarlette was 17 lbs 1 oz the day before her surgery. Today she is approximately 21 lbs! That's a gain of 4 lbs in 5 months! She is sitting on her own very easily, although she doesn't know how to get down from sitting other than falling so she can't be left alone while sitting. She is working on kneeling with her physical therapist now, and she has made large strides in occupational therapy as well. She can grasp objects with ease now, hold two objects at one time, transfer objects and bring her hands to midline. NONE of this was being done prior to her heart surgery. She is babbling up a storm, and making tons of new sounds, but still no words!

Here is a picture of her heart surgery scar from yesterday, I think it's healing beautifully :0)

And here's a link to her scar two weeks post-op: http://theskrovefamily.blogspot.com/2011/09/scarlettes-scar-2-weeks-post-op.html

We are just so thankful that God has His hand on our sweet girl, and I am bursting with pride at the accomplishments she has made in the last 5 months! I can't wait to see what she will be doing when she turns 3!

59 days.....

Tomorrow is a big day for me, Savannah will be 59 days old!

It may seem silly to a normal person, but 59 days has special significance to me! Scarlette was 59 days when she was released from the NICU. We got to bring home our first baby girl on Nov 6, 2009, 59 days after she was born. It was so amazing, no machines (except oxygen and her NG tube), no more obnoxious alarms, no nurses, no doctors, just us and our sweet little girl. She was so wonderful, she was so quiet and calm, she was so content to just be with us. She adapted to home life pretty quickly, and although it wasn't very long before her first surgery and another hospital stay (Nov. 26, 2009), it was just wonderful to adapt to some sort of "normal".

That brings me to Savannah. These last 59 days have been amazing. I am in LOVE with my sweet girl. I feel so incredibly blessed that she was born healthy and I got to take her home just 24 hours after she was born. I am proud to say that I haven't taken these days for granted. NOT having Scarlette home with me the first time made me realize how important it is to just be with and take care of my newborn at home. Savvy and I are rarely separated (thanks in LARGE part to my Moby wrap) and I have been so happy just bonding with her!

It does make me kind of sad to think I missed out on that much time with Scarlette, not having her home for 2 months, but I'm so glad she has taught me not to ignore the small things, and to celebrate every accomplishment, big or small!

Here's a picture of Scarlette the day we brought her home from the hospital:

And here's Savvy today!

And here's Scarlette today!

Savannah is 1 month old!

I can't even believe that tomorrow Savvy will be 1 month old! Time really does fly! Both my mom and my mother-in-law were here for a week each during this month, and we got to do so many fun things! I got to take my mom to ICE! at national harbor, and we went shopping at the outlet mall for Christmas presents! We took Mitch's mom on a tour of the Capitol building, as well as our community Christmas party and took the girls to see Santa.

Savvy is SUCH a good baby. She really loves to be held, and I'm perfectly okay with that right now. She is an avid nurser, and wants to eat when SHE wants to eat. She only wakes up once during the night so I actually haven't felt very sleep deprived except for the first week.

I weighed her today (fully clothed) and she weighed 10 lbs 10 oz! That is 2 lbs and 7 oz above birthweight! Having a baby that gains weight is a WHOLE new experience! She has been awake more and more and I have even gotten a few sweet smiles!

Scarlette is also doing very well. She is nwo officially over 20 lbs! She also got her new glasses and her left hearing aid this month. She has not taken well to either of them but we are trying to ease her into them. Her hair is getting so long and she is sitting so well. She is now working on kneeling with her physical therapist. I'm so proud of my big girl! We are also working on eating solid food now. We offer her stage 1 fruits or vegetables at the beginning of her meal times 3-4 times daily and usually we can get a few good bites in. The key is practice practice practice!

Mitch went back to work yesterday and so far I haven't gone crazy! I have been able to maintain a relatively clean house, keep on top of laundry and cook dinner so I consider that a success! The problem is when I want to do anything that requires more time than a few minutes Savannah gets fussy and wants to be held, so nap time is prime time for me to get things done! I still have a few presents to wrap and a couple projects that need to be finished by Saturday, so tomorrow will be busy!

Christmastime is such a busy time for us! We have 3 christmas parties, one birthday party, and 2 dinners already planned! I love it though! I love the decorations, the music, the movies and the time with friends and family! And the shopping! ;0)

Introducing: Savannah Faythe Skrove!

She's here, she's here! Well, she's been here for five days already, but I'm just now finding the time to update the blog. First the essentials:

Savannah Faythe Skrove

born 11/9/11 at 2:55 p.m. at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Bethesda

weight: 8 lbs 3 oz height: 19 3/4"

she has dark blue eyes and peach fuzz for hair

I am so excited to say that I got to go into labor, AND I labored for approximately 7 hours while I was sleeping. It started late on 11/9 I kept waking up from dreams that I was having contractions only to find that I was having sharp stomach pains. Apparently I was so tired I didn't realize I was having ACTUAL contractions. At 5 a.m. I woke up to go to the restroom and felt a very sharp tightness in my stomach that actually lasted. I had been having a few contractions here and there for a week but this felt different. I decided to get up and move around and see if I had another one. When I had the next one I started my contraction timer app on my iPhone (ahh, technology). I tracked about 4 contractions and they were 12 mins apart. At this point Mitch got up and was surprised to see me up and about. I told him that I thought this was it and we started preparing the house, Scarlette's feeds for 2 days, and let the babysitter know. Over the next hour the contractions intensified and increased to every 8 minutes. I then called Labor and Delivery who told me to just go to my 40 week appt unless my contractions got closer together.

At 8 a.m. Mitch and I headed to the hospital. I had about 3 REALLY strong contractions that I had to actually breathe through, but overall I was only mildly uncomfortable and in a really great mood. I was so excited at the prospect of having Savannah that day! We got to the hospital and my contractions completely stopped. I went to OB and got my chart and we checked in to L&D, but I just KNEW they were going to send me home and I was so disappointed. They hooked me up to the monitor and I only had ONE significant contraction the entire time. Then they made sure Savannah looked okay and we got to see her big fat cheeks on the monitor. Next, they were going to check to see if I was dilated, but they had all but told me I was going home so at this point I wasn't even excited anymore. The midwife checked me, and SURPRISE! I was already dilated to a 5 and almost fully effaced, they were admitting me, and FAST!

When we got in to the hospital room, my labor hadn't progressed at all, so they started me on pitocin and gave me an epidural. The epidural was painful (and I later found out not placed correctly). As soon as the pitocin started the contractions started ramping up. At this point it was 1 p.m. They checked me again and I was at 7 cm. This is when they came in to break my water. By 2 p.m. my water was broken and I was in some serious pain, so they came back in to check me and I was at 9 1/2 cm. The anesthesiologist came in to top off my epidural, but all it did was numb my legs and hips, for some reason none of the medicine was going to my mid-section. The nurse checked me again and it was time to go. Let me tell you, I have never felt anything like that in my ENTIRE life. I was screaming so loud I probably scared all the other pregnant ladies on the ward. My contractions were coming one on top of another, so all I could do is push/breathe/push. There was no resting between contractions, I just had to get her out as fast as possible. The nurse and the doctors (there were like fifteen people in the room, teaching hospital) were very encouraging, and Mitch was right beside me talking to me the whole time. I pushed as hard as I could and after ten minutes she was out. I was sobbing, Mitch was laughing because I refused to believe she was out, even after they showed her to me, ya I think I'm a bit dramatic. The pain was gone immediately though, and I was so excited to meet my little Savannah! They cleaned her off a bit and then gave her to me, and of course, it was love at first sight. She doesn't look as much like Scarlette as I thought she would, but she's so adorable. All of us in the room guessed how much she weighed and I got it EXACTLY!

After that we spent some time nursing and just spending time the three of us. She's a good little nurser though breastfeeding has definitely had it's frustrations already and she's so sweet. She just wants to be in mommy's arms all day long. I know I will have to break her of that soon but right now I adore it! We were released from the hospital on Thursday, exactly 24 hours after she was born! I was so excited to see my Scarlette I can't even tell you. We got home after 2 hours in traffic and Squish was so happy to see us. I just wanted to love on both my babies at the same time. So far she has done so well with Savannah and is actually interested in her a little bit. She does NOT like when she cries though. Can't believe my sweet little baby is already 5 days old. I just want to freeze time for awhile!

Scarlette's Adenoid/Ear Surgery

Yesterday, Scarlette had a minor surgery, though to a mommy no surgery is minor when your baby has to go under anesthesia! She had part of her adenoids removed, ear tubes placed in her ears, and an ABR, which is a test to look for hearing loss. We went in very early yesterday morning and she was completely done by 11 a.m.

The ear tube placement went very well, they will most likely have to be replaced in a year and hopefully she won't need them anymore by the time she's 4 or 5. Her ABR did show minor to moderate signs of hearing loss in her left ear, which has not yet been fitted for a hearing aid. We will be doing that ASAP so that we can maximize her hearing potential. The last procedure they did was the adenoidectomy. When they went in they realized that there was actually very little adenoid tissue in there so they didn't take as much out as they had originally thought they were going to.

When we went to see Scarlette she was very upset and crying hard. It took us a good two hours to fully calm her down and once she finally calmed down she was in a very happy/giggly mood. Unfortunately she chose the one time the anesthesiologist was peeking in on her to have a very bad vomiting episode in which her oxygen levels dipped drastically. At this point they decided she needed to be kept overnight for observation. Mitch and I were frustrated because we knew how to handle the situation and were really looking forward to taking Scarlette home in the early afternoon. It took them about five hours to secure her a bed in the PICU, and at about 5 p.m. we finally got transported over there. At approximately 5:30 the surgeon came in, took one look at her and asked us if we were comfortable taking her home. After a few emphatic "yes!"'s they said they would get the discharge paperwork ready. We didn't hear from anyone again for about an hour and a half, but around 7 p.m. we were on our way home, exhausted from the very long day.

We got home and put Scarlette to bed around 10 p.m. (apparently SHE wasn't tired from our very long day) and she slept through the night and woke up happy. She has been a happy, giggly little girl all day, and aside from coughing occasionally isn't acting like anything is wrong. The ENT surgeon did say that she will need her tonsils removed, but they won't even consider doing it for another year because they want her to be much bigger prior to that surgery.

Yesterday I hit 38 weeks in my pregnancy, and today I had my 38 week appointment. They measured my stomach (measuring on track now) and listened to Savannah's heartbeat (strong, high 140's). We scheduled my 39 week appt. (11/3) and if I make it until my due date (11/9). I'm actually hoping to go to my due date because we have a lot of fun busy plans for this week and next and I kinda want Savannah to come after them! Obviously she is welcome to come whenever she wants, but we also want her to stay in there as long as she needs. AND it would be cool to have an 11/11/11 baby to go with my 9/9/09 baby! Hear that Savvy?